Wound on neck, won't stop scratching

[hana18redcrown]

A couple of months ago, at least 10-11, our young female got a wound on the right side of her neck. We thought it was a battle wound from playing with another kitten we had adopted at the time and just made sure to make sure it healed, and help her keep it clean if needed.

Well it didn't go away, and she keeps scratching it open, so we took her to the vet months ago and forked out a fortune to test for feline allergies. Vet said it looked like a fungal infection and gave us a course of antibiotics for her.

Well it hasn't helped. She still scratches it open constantly and we're afraid it will get infected. We've managed to keep it clean enough that nothing serious has happened but she won't stop opening the wound.

Wanted to know if anyone had any tips or tricks for us to try. It seems like no matter what we cover it up with, she still manages to scratch at it. We've tried cones, cat clothes, socks, cloth hairbands. My last resort is taking a big triangle bandage from our first aid kit and rigging something up with that.

Does anyone have any suggestions for us to help it heal and keep her from scratching it? I'm sure as it starts to heal it gets itchy, which is likely why she keeps opening it, but I'm desperate for suggestions of things to try to keep her from irritating it and continuing to open it.

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• hana18redcrown
• Dec 23, 2016

 

[2Cats4everLoved]

Hello and welcome to TCS.

I'm so sorry your sweet girl is suffering.  May I ask her name?

Please know I'm not a vet and not sure if this is possible, BUT, can you call your vet and see if there is a topical ointment that has a numbing effect.  My logic is, if it stops irritating her long enough to scab and start healing, perhaps her focus will turn towards something else.

Just a thought.

There are Advisors and Vets on this site.  Hopefully someone will chime in with a more solid plan.

Best to you and your sweet girl.

Warm regards

 

[hana18redcrown]

Her name is Olive. She's our resident racoon tail due to how often her tail puffs up when she plays haha.

Currently our money situation is lacking. I just lost my job and my husband is barely able to take care of our rent and food. So I can call and ask but we would probably have to find a way to scrape together the funds to pay for it.

 

[2Cats4everLoved]

Her name is Olive. She's our resident racoon tail due to how often her tail puffs up when she plays haha.

Currently our money situation is lacking. I just lost my job and my husband is barely able to take care of our rent and food. So I can call and ask but we would probably have to find a way to scrape together the funds to pay for it.

Olive is a cute name.

I understand about the money situation.  

@Red Top Rescue

@Margd  

@mrsgreenjeens  

@Kat0121

I was wondering if anyone and any tricks to comfort the kitty.  I know it's Christmas Eve and most are busy any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks so much.  I can only imaging Olive is extremely uncomfortable.

Warmest regards, Hope

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Have you tried a baby onesy on her?   You can probably pick one up at a thrift store if you don't have one.  That's what people often put on cats when they need to cover up a wound on either their tummies or their back's to let them heal.  Also, have you tried putting Soft Paws on her back claws, or at the very least, keep them trimmed extremely short?  Soft claws would be best.  

Next, there are quite  few people here on TCS who use Colloidal Silver to help heal wounds, and some of the wounds were pretty awful.  I don't know that it helps with itching, because, honestly, when a wound starts to heal, as you said, it's going to itch

.  But it might help it heal, if you think you need assistance in that area.  Additionally, if you think she might need more antibiotics, if you were to CALL your Vet and explain your financial situation, they might be willing to simply write out the prescription, and you can usually get them filled at regular pharmacies (even Costco - 'Im pretty sure you don't have to be a member to fill prescriptions) for much cheaper.

I can see why a cone didn't work .  

Here, I found a picture of a cat in a onesy:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/328751/alternatives-to-the-cone, and this one, which looks like it covers more of the neck:  http://www.feralcatbehavior.com/2335/mewsings.html

 

[kitkate]

Hi! Did tou ever end up figuring out what the skin issue was with your Olive? My kitten has the exact same problem, on her neck and im going through the exact same process to figure out what it is. And did you by any chance figure out how to prevent your cat from scratching herself? Ive been thinking of a donut collar, but since it's on her neck, im worried.... thank you!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Hi! Did tou ever end up figuring out what the skin issue was with your Olive? My kitten has the exact same problem, on her neck and im going through the exact same process to figure out what it is. And did you by any chance figure out how to prevent your cat from scratching herself? Ive been thinking of a donut collar, but since it's on her neck, im worried.... thank you!

The original post is several years old so you may not receive a response. Have you taken your kitten to the Vet? If not, I would do that first.

In the meantime, you can try brewing up some chamomile tea using tea bags from the grocery store (don't use loose tea), let it cool, and dab the wound with a cotton ball dipped in the cooled brew. You can do this several times a day to help with healing/itching. And if our cat ingests a little bit, there are no issues there.

 

[kitkate]

I did take her to the vet, right now we are going through the process of trying to figure out what it is, just like the person who posted a couple of years before.... which is why I took a chance in asking if the person had ended up figuring it out. At the moment, my kitten still has her neck wound, she had an antibiotic injection last week and a booster is scheduled for next week and if that doesn't work we will be going through allergen tests (exactly like the person in this feed years prior and if I look at the picture they posted, its the same)

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Glad she is under a Vet's care. I would still look into using the Chamomile tea to see if she gets some relief from it.

 

[kitkate]

I will be looking into that! Im curious to see if it will help! I'll also be trying to cover her wound with a cut sock to try to prevent her from scratching it open all the time (she only weighs 3 pounds so the sock hole will be quite loose on her)